ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville catcher Pete Guy made his first start for the Bulldogs a memorable one.

The sophomore hit two home runs, including a grand-slam, and drove in seven runs as Asheville downed East Tennessee State 17-11 Wednesday afternoon at windy Greenwood Field.

The Bulldogs had a season-high 21 hits and built a 17-3 lead before the Bucs tallied eight times in the eighth inning.

Asheville reliever Brian Connolly (1-0) earned his first win of the season as he pitched three innings and allowed just one run against the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champions.

The Bulldogs (4-11) had four hits and three RBI’s from first baseman Hunter Bryant. Phillip Treadway and Kyle Towles had three hits for the Blue & White. Treadway added two doubles, while freshman shortstop Derek Smith had two hits and scored twice. Tanner Bush came off the bench for the home team and contributed two hits and a triple.

Guy doubled in his first run in the second inning to help put the Dogs in front 2-0.

Asheville took the lead for good with three runs in the fourth inning. Tied at 2-2, Robert McIntosh singled with one out followed by a double from Treadway. McIntosh scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. Joe Tietjen doubled in Treadway to push the lead to 4-2. Kyle Carruthers’ RBI-double plated Tietjen to give Asheville a 5-2 advantage.

The Bulldogs exploded for 11 runs over the next two innings to put the game away, led by Guy. In the fifth, Treadway had a two-run double to pad the margin to 7-2. Guy then hit his first home run of the game, a two-run shot for a 9-2 margin. Bush had a run-scoring triple to close the fifth for a 10-2 lead.

In the sixth, Asheville scored six times to lead 16-2. Bryant’s two-run single scored the first two runs of the inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Guy homered deep over the left-field wall for a grand-slam and 16-2 margin.

Bryant’s RBI-double in the seventh closed out the scoring for the Bulldogs.

ETSU (7-9) rallied in the eighth as it scored eight times on six hits. Chris Riopedre finished the uprising with a two-run homer.

UNC Asheville begins Big South Conference play this Friday when the Bulldogs start a three-game series at Presbyterian College starting at 3 p.m.